Missed Signs
by Epsilon110
Summary: Bakugou Katsuki was a lot of things. But he wasn't an idiot. Not by a longshot. He recognized that rumbling feeling in his stomach when she looked at him in their match at the sports festival.


**Co-written By Titus621**

* * *

Bakugou Katsuki was a lot of things. But he wasn't an idiot.

Not by a longshot.

He recognized that rumbling feeling in his stomach when she looked at him in their match at the sports festival. She was so determined and powerful, only for her body to collapse under her. Just recalling that memory was enough to cause the same hunger-like churning sensation to spread deep within him.

Round-Face was hot, it was as simple as that. Her quirk wasn't as good as his, nor was she as attractive as he was, not that anybody could be anyways, but she _was_ hot. He couldn't deny it: a part of him really did want her. She was driven and had a hot bod, there was no shame in wanting some of that.

He gave in to the urge to spare a glance back and, of course, she was checking him out too, their gazes locking for a moment before she looked down shyly.

_Oh yeah. She's __**definitely **__into me._

* * *

Ochako felt sick to her stomach.

Compared to this, going past her weight limit was a pleasant knot in her stomach. She had spared a glance to Izuku, seeing if he was fine after the Stain… _thing_, only for Bakugou to look back at her in a way she could only describe as 'Mineta-like'. That, combined with his predatory smirk, caused her to almost heave, her eyes quickly darting back to the small doodles she was drawing of Deku. Her stomach calmed immediately at the sight of the large and overly-stylised eyes she had drawn him with, along with the signature freckles he sported.

_...Wonder why I like drawing him so much._

Before her mind could go down that dangerous path, All Might burst into the room and ushered them all out to their hero training for the day. She quickly discarded the incident from her mind as she hurried down with the rest of the girls to change into her costume.

Today, their training came in the form of a race through one of the practice cities that UA owned. Even after over a month of being here at UA, Ochako was still amazed by how much money the school had. It was such a far cry from the relative poverty she had grown up in.

The first group was Ojirou, Iida, Sero, Mina, and Deku. Several of her classmates voiced their concerns over Iida, as he hadn't completely healed from his injuries from his encounter with Stain.

"Man, everyone in this group has really good mobility," Kirishima said thoughtfully.

Momo disagreed. "I'd say Midoriya is at a heavy disadvantage against those four."

"That's what I think," Kyouka agreed.

Ochako couldn't help but agree as well. Deku had a powerful quirk, to put it mildly, but he couldn't use it without hurting himself. _Maybe if he jumps all at once? But if he misses… _She didn't want to think about it. Maybe that wasn't the best plan.

"I think Iida's got this," Ochako said, confident in her friend's ability to win the race. Speed was Iida's whole schtick, right?

Deep down, however, she couldn't help but root for Deku. He had surprised her so many times in the past, even in the relatively short time they had known each other. Maybe... he could do it again?

Then, just like she had hoped, he did it. When the starting gun fired, the whole class was shocked silent as Deku not only showed off that he could use his quirk without breaking himself, he showed how efficient he had gotten with it. Hopping from one point to the next as easily as he was breathing.

_Of course he did it. He's so cool, I can't believe how much I missed him last week._

"Those moves…." she muttered, seeing the similarities between the way he was bouncing around and Tsu's way of moving in the battlefield- but there were someone els-

"THAT DAMN NERD IS STEALING MY MOVES!"

Ochako froze for a second. _What? _

The class slowly stared at Bakugou who was decidedly ignoring them all. Or was simply not aware of the reaction his outburst had created.

Ochako looked back at the screen, trying to see if Bakugou's claim at least had some ground to stand on. But instead, she gasped as Izuku's foot slipped and he tumbled down into the maze of pipes.

* * *

Bakugou turned at the sudden gasp, reveling in the fact that at least _she_ was not as dumb as the rest of the class, and recognized that the shit nerd was clearly stealing his moves. No wonder he was attracted to her, she was smart enough to look past the smoke and mirrors that nerd was faking to remain in class. He was probably blackmailing one of the teachers anyway.

Then he caught the glimpse of worry in the eyes of the others, his head snapping back to the screen they were broadcasting this whole charade on.

Deku had slipped and fallen down, crashing from one pipe to the next until he hit the ground.

He couldn't help but snort at the sight.

_Of course, he couldn't handle my moves, even with his tricks._

* * *

Ochako tried to go make sure Deku was okay when class ended, but he ran off too quickly for her to catch him. She watched him dash down the hallway, ignoring Iida's reprimands. She was staring at his green hair bobbing into the distance when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned behind her, wondering which one of the gi-

"Hey Round-Face, don't worry about that nerd. Come hang out with a _real_ man." Bakugou was sneering down at her, a look of sickening confidence on his face.

"U-uh…" Ochako was stunned, completely wide-eyed and shocked.

"We're heading to the arcade after school, you should come with us. You can do better than Glasses and _Deku_."

"B-but-"

"See you there," he shouted back with a wave, having already turned to walk off.

_But I was gonna hang out with Deku, Iida and Todoroki after school…_

She felt another pair of hands on her shoulders, which quickly whipped her around. She found herself staring into the cheery face of Mina.

"Did I hear that right? You're coming with us to the arcade?"

"Uh, um-"

"Come on, Ochako. It'll be fun!" Mina pleaded. "You can watch me kick Kiri's ass at the dancing games- oh, and sometimes if Kaminari gets too into a game he'll wind up shocking himself! It's a great time, _pleeeeease_?!"

What could mere mortals do against enthusiasm like that? "F-fine, I'll come," Ochako relented.

"Yay!" Mina yelled as she threw her arms around Ochako then ran off down the hallway. "Come on, Ocha, you're gonna be late for class!"

Ochako rubbed her arms as she finally willed her feet to move forward. _I guess I can just tell the guys I can't make it tonight…_

* * *

The day ended, and Izuku started walking towards the train station, Iida soon joining in on his side as they made it to the gates of the school. Soon Todoroki silently appeared next to him too, joining on the route towards the station.

They all were quiet. It was weird.

He was about to question it when he realized why. Ochako was missing from their small group. He finally broke the silence "Uh- guys… where is Uraraka? Shouldn't we wait for her too?"

Iida chopped one hand forward. _Oh right, he can't move the other as well right now…_ "While I respect your worry over our friend, I there is no need! I saw Ashido dragging her away, she told me that she would need to cancel our plans, as something came up!"

A sense of disappointment bubbled up in Izuku's chest, causing him to flinch slightly. _I mean… if something came up it's normal… not like it was important or anything. _

"Hmm. There she is," Todoroki said flatly, pointing further down the station.

That's when the sense of disappointment turned into betrayal, which caused Izuku to freeze, seeing Ochako with Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero and Bakugou.

Chatting happily with each other.

His shoulders slumped involuntarily old memories washing over him in an instant. Of all the people that were nice to him at the start, only to start tormenting or ignoring him after Bakugou talked with them.

_Quirkless._

_Useless._

_Deku._

Part of him knew Ochako would never do something like that. But he couldn't help but fear.

As he, Iida and Todoroki boarded their train, he didn't notice Ochako's gaze lingering on him from across the station.

* * *

Bakugou noticed her staring at the other group. _That's right, look at that pathetic loser. You can see how weak he is, can't you?_

Kirishima looked worriedly at his smirking friend.

Their train boarded a few moments later, the six of them grabbing a row of seats to themselves in the relatively empty train car. Bakugou made a point to sit next to Ochako, swinging his arm above and around, resting it behind her, but not touching her.

Mina immediately noticed the 'suave' move and the look of nervousness on Ochako's face. _Oh my God, is Ocha crushing on Baku? Is that why she came? Oh, he's totally into her, too. This is too cute._

Mina was a romantic, anybody who talked to her for more than five minutes could figure that out. She took one look at her two classmates and swore an oath. _I'll do whatever I can to make sure they get together…_

It was a quick ride to the arcade, but the whole time, Bakugou had his arm hovering over Ochako's shoulders. The brunette didn't say a word the entire time, clearly too nervous from the proximity of her crush to form words. Mina could just tell these things sometimes.

The whole time, she couldn't help but feel like something was _off_, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe she was just still a little frazzled from school that day. In that case, she was doubly-pleased to be going to the arcade. She could use the escape.

The group of six students walked into the arcade, their faces illuminated by the flashing lights, and their ears assaulted by the buzzing and ringing sounds. Ochako had moved over to Mina, putting three people between her and Bakugou.

_Ooh, playing hard to get? Seeing if he'll come to you? Smart girl._

Sure enough, Bakugou did just that. He bumped Kaminari out of the way roughly, putting himself next to Ochako again. It took all of Mina's willpower to keep her squeal of delight internal.

They split up into a couple of groups. Kirishima demanded yet another rematch against Mina on the dancing game, a challenge she was more than willing to accept, Kaminari and Sero ran off to try and beat each other's high scores in the basketball game, while Bakugou went off with Ochako. Mina made an effort to make sure to keep the two of them in her line of sight as much as she could.

After retaining her title as 1-A Dance Champion, Mina wiped her brow and snuck over to spy on Ochako and Bakugou while Kirishima went to go commiserate with Kaminari and Sero about his eighth-straight defeat.

She stealthily slid up to a nearby pillar, poking her head around just far enough to steal a glance at the two lovebirds.

Bakugou was more animated than she had ever seen him before; he was talking up a storm, at least compared to how he normally was. The 'moves' he was putting on were pretty ham-fisted and honestly made Mina cringe a little bit, but if Ochako liked them, who was she to ju-

Mina stopped.

She looked over Ochako's expression, her body language, her entire energy; it was utterly uncomfortable.

Mina ran over the events of the day in her head as fast as she could, stripping away the rose-colored glasses she had viewed them through. Ochako wasn't shy or flustered…

Mina felt sick to her stomach.

_I've made a terrible mistake_.

* * *

Izuku woke up in a cold sweat the next morning, memories of a nightmare fading rapidly as they came. He rubbed his eyes, willing the unshed tears away. He wanted to scream at himself.

Getting this emotional over Ochako skipping one day? That wasn't normal. He was being clingy and gross. Maybe that was why everyone avoided him in middle school. Well that and him being quirkless.

_She wanted to be my friend- but I guess I was too weird… __again_… _and now she wants to stay away from me…_

He laughed sadly. Then sighed.

_...Maybe things haven't changed... _

_Are Iida and Todoroki only around me cause they feel indebted to me?_

He hugged his knees, trying to get as small as he physically could, mirroring how small he felt at the moment.

_Maybe no one cares about me still…_

* * *

Ochako yawned as she stepped off of the train station near UA, trying to shake off the weird slime she felt covered in since the previous day. _Maybe if I hurry up, I can see the guys before class starts. Deku always makes me feel better when I'm down…_

"Oi, Round-Face! Took you long enough!"

Ochako nearly fell on her face as she stumbled in surprise.

Bakugou grabbed her by the shoulders and held her upright. "I know I'm hot, but come on, you can't be that clumsy."

Ochako felt sick again, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping that he would let go of her soon.

"Hey, look at me, Round-Face."

She peeled one of her eyes open and saw his confident smirk staring down at her.

"That's better." He let go of her and started walking off. "Come on, I don't have all day."

Ochako shuddered, trying to get the feeling of his hands off her arms. He was right, unfortunately; she needed to get moving if she wanted to get to class.

* * *

Mina wanted to puke when she saw how uncomfortable Ochako looked as Bakugou dragged her to class, one arm around her shoulder, leaving her no escape from his contact.

All the signs were there yesterday and she missed them- _No Mina, now's not the time to beat yourself up over it- just help her now!_

"Uh- hey Bakugou, can we talk for a second? Alone?"

The spiky blonde huffed but complied, smirking and muttering to Ochako about meeting after this.

Ochako didn't even nod and simply scuttled into class like a scared cat.

* * *

As she ducked into the classroom, Ochako mentally promised to give Mina all of her mochi at lunch for letting her get away from Bakugou.

She had never been happier to see Izuku sitting in his seat on the far side of the room and quickly hurried over to him. However, as she got close, her heart fell.

Izuku looked terrible. His shoulders were slumped and his tie was tied on properly for once. What was worse was his eyes. They were just the smallest bit red and swollen, like he had been crying. If she didn't know him so well, she might not have been able to tell. He looked lifeless.

She opted to try and cheer him up. "D-Deku, your tie looks nice."

He nearly jumped out of his chair; he had apparently not noticed her approaching. "Wha-?! Oh, it's you, Uraraka." The way he said her name felt strange, like something that had always been there was missing. "T-thanks, I know it always looked pretty goofy, so I had my mom help me out."

"Aw, that's nice of her," Ochako said quietly. "Your mom sounds like a ni-"

"DEKU!"

Izuku really did jump out of his chair this time, Ochako shrieking a little as he tumbled to the ground next to her.

Bakugou stomped over and loomed over Izuku, small explosions popping off in his hand in his rage. The blonde looked almost demonic as fierce energy radiated from him.

The look on Izuku's face was pure terror, and if Ochako didn't know any better, it almost looked practiced, as if he had worn it many times before. Something in his eyes was distant, as if he was reliving far-off memories.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ochako hadn't seen Bakugou this angry since he won the Sports Festival.

"I-I-I-"

"Bakugou." The steely gaze of Aizawa washed over the classroom as the door flew open, freezing everyone in place. "Students should be in their seats."

Ochako hurried back to the near side of the room so as not to risk the wrath of their teacher, but she couldn't help shooting several glances back at Izuku. Her own problems didn't seem as important anymore.

She saw Bakugou mutter something to Izuku, but she was too far away to hear what it was. Although, something in her gut told her that she should be worried, and maybe a little disgusted.

* * *

The rest of the day went unbelievably strangely for Ochako. Every time she tried to hang out with Izuku, like she had every day since school started, Bakugou had inserted himself into the situation or found a way to pull her out.

Truth be told, she was quickly getting sick of it.

_I miss the guys. I miss Deku. It was hard enough being away from my friends for the internships, but now it's worse. They're so close, but so far away._

But what had her more concerned was how… quiet Izuku had gotten. Whenever Bakugou came around and talked to her, he basically shrunk into himself, just like he had during the first week of classes. Izuku had been getting better at being around Bakugou; a lot better, in fact, but now it seemed all of that progress had gone up in smoke.

In the few moments she actually got to talk to Izuku, before Bakugou could interrupt, he seemed like a different person around her. He was more reserved, less talkative, and missing that spark that she had seen in him since the entrance exam.

Something was clearly wrong, and if she had to guess, it was because of Bakugou. _Why is he trying to be all friendly with me all of a sudden, anyway? He was never interested in being my friend before…_

But every damn time she tried to find out what was wrong, Bakugou would come around, and Izuku would go almost catatonic, allowing Bakugou to pull her back into his own friend group as Izuku wallowed in something she couldn't understand. It was setting off all the alarms she had as a hero and as his friend.

But she couldn't quite understand what was going on, and she couldn't help without understanding.

* * *

Even Mina was avoiding the group, giving Bakugou the mean eye from the sidelines as Ochako was pulled back into the small group of boys, she was at least happy to have Kirishima around, he was pleasant company.

Unlike the 'nucleus' of the "Bakusquad".

She shuddered again as Bakugou got physical, touching her shoulder and shaking her slightly to get her attention as he made another joke that didn't land.

She joined in the awkward, almost pitiful laugh Kirishima started.

* * *

Ochako was a patient and kind girl, or at least she liked to think so, but her patience had its limits. She was going to get to the bottom of whatever was happening to Izuku and Bakugou could go to hell if he tried to stop her.

The final bell rang and Midnight dismissed them, the teacher quickly leaving the room herself. Most of the students packed up and began to slowly walk towards the door, but Ochako was waiting. She waited for Bakugou to get up out of his seat and begin walking over to her, just like she figured he would.

She quickly stood up and took the opposite route around the classroom, distancing herself from Bakugou as she hurried over to Izuku, who was packing up much more sluggishly than he usually did. She gently touched him on the shoulder, causing him to jump ever-so-slightly. _It really is just like the first week of class all over again…_

"Hey, Deku. Do you wanna walk home together? There's this new mochi shop I found that I really want to t-"

"What do you think you're doing, Deku?" Bakugou's voice was low, but filled with anger.

"He's not doing anything, _Bakugou._" Ochako had officially had enough. "I'm asking him if he wants to hang out with me, _his friend._"

Bakugou nearly began to laugh. "Of course you would want to be around that loser. You feel sorry for him right? Like a real rescue hero." He shook his head as he smirked. "But don't be sorry for him that much, he isn't worth your time. He's just the same quirkless, friendless, waste of space he was in middle school. My girlfriend shouldn't waste time on people like him."

The entire class had stopped in their tracks, staring at the three students on the far side of the room.

Ochako was pretty sure she was hearing things. Maybe the past few days were just some elaborate, extended fever dream. That would not only make sense, but it would also be welcome.

"Quirkless? Friendless?" Ochako began, finally finding her voice. "I don't know who you think you're talking about, but it sure isn't Deku here."

Bakugou actually did start laughing. Honestly, it was kind of unsettling. "Deku! It cracks me up every time you call him that. Because it's true. He really is useless, and I know that you know that, because you call him that."

"That's no-"

"You're a smart girl, Round-Face, so I don't understand why you would want to hang out with a loser like him when you could hang out with an alpha like me." Bakugou raised an eyebrow smugly. "Get this: I beat him up, blew him up, and called him names basically every day for over a decade, and he still came back for more. What kinda beta shit is that?"

The class grew deadly silent. "You… you did _what_?" There was almost real killing intent in Ochako's voice.

"Yeah, can you believe it?" Bakugou laughed again. "Quirkless beta manlet. Fuckin' Deku." He shook his head in mock pity. "Once the other kids saw how pathetic he was, they all ditched him. Look, he even embraced the damn name. His hero name! Useless! It's so pathetic! He picked that name just to get in your pants, as if he had a chance. Now that _you_ know, you can ditch him too."

Suddenly, it all made sense to Ochako.

Why Izuku had been so skittish, so afraid of Bakugou during the first week of class. Bakugou had systematically isolated and abused Izuku for _years_.

Izuku never had a friend before her, and these last few days Bakugou was wedging in between the them, driving them apart. He was causing Izuku to spiral back into whatever depressive state he had lived in before he got to U.A.

She suddenly wondered how many times Izuku had smiled before she met him. Wondered how many times he had someone in his corner. _No wonder he cries so much when I just… act friendly with him..._

Izuku was acting strangely because Bakugou was causing him to remember those memories, using her in the process, just like he had done who knows how many times in the past. Izuku was twisting apart inside, but hadn't said anything. Why? Was it because Izuku didn't want to hurt _her _feelings? He was willing to break his bones just to prove a point to Todoroki, was he willing to break his spirit for her?

Her blood boiled, her stomach churned, but most importantly, her heart shattered.

She looked at Izuku, who looked like was having five nightmares at the same time, trying to hide himself behind his arms again.

Izuku looked so small in that moment a far cry from the man who had jumped to face off against a zero pointer to save her. Suddenly, a hand slammed down on his desk. "Final warning, _Deku._ Don't you dare talk to my girlfriend ag-"

A heavy crash echoed through the room as Bakugou tasted Gunhead martial arts for the first time, his back meeting the tiled floor below.

"Who the _fuck_ do you think you are talking to?" Ochako towered over him, her eyebrows twitching slightly. "Your '_girlfriend'_?"

Bakugou blinked on the ground a few times, trying to come to terms with whatever the hell just happened.

"How dare you try and pull me away from Deku! He's my friend!" She had completely forgotten the rest of the class was still watching.

Bakugou hopped off the group and rolled his shoulders. "See, this is why I love you, Round-Face. That fiery spirit. You don't take crap from anyone, so I know you need a real man like myself. I know that's why you love me, too."

At this point, Ochako had accepted that nothing was going to make any sense today, so she decided not to even attempt to make sense of it. "I _don't_ love you, _asshole_! Why would you even think that?!"

Bakugou raised an incredulous eyebrow. "I saw how you looked at me during our fight at the sports festival. You were thinking about how tough and badass I was, how manly I was after I beat your best attack. I didn't think much of it at the time, but then I found out that you came up with that plan all on your own. You impressed me."

Ochako's eyebrow twitched. "I wasn't thinking about you! I was thinking about-"

She froze.

"I was thinking about…" She looked down to the petrified Izuku. "...Deku."

"What?!" Bakugou was in disbelief. "Why?! He's just a-"

"Because I look up to him, that's why!" Ochako took a step forward, placing herself between the two boys. "He's _my _hero! And I want to be just like him!"

Bakugou started laughing again, but there was an edge to it this time. "Do I need to remind you who won the Sports Festival? Who got an internship with the number four hero while this cuck only got a single offer from some nobody? Who got first place overall on the entrance exam without any of that 'rescue point' bullshit? That virgin didn't even get a single villain point!" He flexed his arms in what was supposed to be an impressive display. "Why would you want to be like that loser when you could be with me?"

Ochako felt her heart rate pick up; from what, she didn't know yet. "I don't know how you can even see with your head shoved so far up your own ass!"

"Look," Bakugou said with even more of bite. "I've been patient, but I'm getting sick of this. Stop trying to deny you love me, it's painfully obvious."

Ochako realized he wasn't going to give up. There was only one thing that was playing in her head, over and over.

His confession. Something felt wrong about hearing it from _him_.

She turned back to Izuku, who was staring into space and looking as if he was trying not to exist anymore. Something clicked inside her mind. And her heart. _I wanted to hear those words from him-_

She put her hands on his cheeks, snapping him out of it and pulling his vision up to hers. "I know what I feel." Ochako looked back at the stunned Bakugou with a smug smirk. "In a way, thanks for this, Bakugou."

She turned back and crashed her lips into Izuku's.

Ochako felt electric arcing through her as their lips pressed against each other, her heart feeling fuller and fuller with each passing second of the brief contact they shared. Her assumption was right. Now… she just needed to tell him that.

She pulled back as her face filled with red. Izuku looked like he had just seen an angel descend from the heavens themselves, eyes wide and shaky with pure awe and surprise. She was glad that he was blushing too, just seeing that was making what was to come just a little bit easier. She inhaled trying to calm her heart down, the organ rapping against her chest violently

"I li-like _you_, D- no. Izuku." She took a deep breath to steady herself and looked him in the eyes.

"_I love you, Izuku_."

As if the words alone turned something inside her on she felt her lips feel dry, licking them instinctively as a hunger started to spread throughout her mind. The same look appeared in Izuku's eyes as she wrapped her hands around the back of his head and thrust her head forward again.

This time, there was no resistance from either of them. Their lips felt like they were made for each other as they split apart slightly, her tongue reaching into his mouth, shortly followed by his own as they battled for dominance.

Mina started cheering, the rest joining in while Iida alternated between shouting about how against the rules this all was and congratulating them on their newly blossoming relationship.

Ochako and Izuku's eyes went wide as they split apart, thin strands of saliva connecting them still. They panted slowly, both slightly out of breath as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Deku," Ochako said firmly, "grab your backpack."

Izuku blinked dumbly, but his arm latched onto his backpack reflexively upon hearing her order, and as soon as he took hold of it, she grabbed his wrist, removing his weight and pulling him out of his seat.

He floated behind her like a balloon as she dragged him out of the classroom, the students splitting to let them pass.

Bakugou stood there, completely stunned. He tried to rationalize what he had just witnessed away, but there was no denying it: it was very real.

After a few tense seconds, he stuffed his hands in his pockets as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. He clicked his tongue as he stomped out of the classroom.

"I tried to warn you, Bakugou," Mina said, her voice full of disgust, but a small amount of pity.

"Foids were God's mistake. Only men can appreciate my chad nature," he called out as he slammed the door behind him.

Mineta looked at the scene, crinkling his nose in disgust as he shook his head.

"Fucking incel."

* * *

April fools!

Also: This by no mean reflects either mine or Titus's opinions on Katsuki Bakugou. We just thought it would be hilarious to write a story where his insecurities and superiority complex manifested as an incel complex.

hope you laughed as hard as we did.

And if you didn't, Blame Mattybeach and Toony, they didn't rein us in as our beta readers


End file.
